Greg Snell, an Oshawa, Ontario native, was living in Golden, BC and working in the tourism industry when he learned about the Adventure Tourism Business Operations program offered at College of the Rockies.
Feeling the program was a perfect fit for him, he enrolled in September 2007. “I chose College of the Rockies, not only because I was living in Golden, but also because it is the only school in Canada offering a course focusing on Adventure Tourism with a perspective on small business entrepreneurship and sustainable development,” says Greg.
After completing the Adventure Tourism Business Operations diploma in 2009, Greg’s life has definitely been an adventure. He applied for, and was accepted into, a CIDA funded internship in Ecuador, focusing on sustainable development through tourism.
Greg’s experience in that internship helped him to obtain employment with G Adventures – a Canadian adventure tourism company offering more than 1000 tours in more than 100 countries around the world. These tours are run in a sustainable manner with a focus on cultural integration. As part of his duties, Greg worked as a tour leader in the Southern Cone of South America. He lead tours through Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and The Patagonia.
“I had an amazing job that I loved and my experience in College of the Rockies’ ATBO program helped me get there,” Greg notes.
In 2013, Greg fulfilled his dream to work in Australia by applying for Tourism Australia’s ‘Best Job in the World – Wildlife Caretaker’. With over 330,000 applicants for 6 positions, Greg was the only Canadian to make it to the finals and on June 21, 2013 was announced as the winner!
Greg’s position saw him living on Kangaroo Island in South Australia for six months where he spent his time swimming with great white sharks, snorkeling with sea lions, hanging out with kangaroos and helping to conserve the pristine natural environment of the island.
Having finished his time in Australia, Snell is not about to let the adventures end. He just concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund his next innovative endeavour – an online documentary travel series.
The series, which will be called Travel Global Think Local, is described as “a documentary travel series which tells powerful stories of extraordinary people in incredible places”. The focus of the series will be community projects that encourage empowerment, sustainability and the actions of people who are making the world a better place.
“I believe that we can create a stronger future by engaging local communities to empower themselves for positive change,” says Snell. “Travel Global Think Local embodies this belief,” he adds.
Learn more about the Adventure Tourism Business Operations program.